North launches missile tests

Seoul says can deter Pyongyang threats

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A photo taken on Monday shows a US Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter flying over a US military base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea.

(AFP)

SEOUL: North Korea test-fired cruise missiles from its latest warship, the second time in a week it has launched its new sea-to-surface weapons system as reports grow that the US is shifting air defence assets out of South Korea to help it fight Iran.

Kim Jong-un oversaw the test on TV, accompanied by his daughter, Ju-ae, on Tuesday, a photo released by state media yesterday showed.

“Important successes have been recently made in putting the strategic and tactical strike means on a practical basis and deploying them for an actual war,” Mr Kim was quoted as saying by the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

The cruise missiles were launched simultaneously from the North’s flagship destroyer Choe Hyon and hit multiple island targets off North Korea's west coast, KCNA said.

The back-to-back tests of the new weapons system come as the US reportedly transfers military assets, including Patriot batteries and parts of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system, to the Middle East, raising concerns over a weakened deterrence against nuclear-armed North Korea.